The first climber to reach 8000er summits 20 times was Juanito Oiarzabal (SPA). He now has 23 (or possibly 24), the actual world record (1*). So far, Juanito has repeated EV, K2, KG, MK, CH, G1 and G2 (Annapurna 2010 is contested). He is the first person to repeat the Top Three (two summits on EV, on K2 and on KG).

The second climber to summit 20x8000ers was Ed Viesturs (USA), on Annapurna in 2005. After some years of absence, he came back last year as part of the expedition organized by First Ascent. With seven summits on Everest, Ed now has 21 main 8000ers.

Several Sherpas have also broken the 20k barrier recently. The list includes Danuru (IMG guide), with 22 main 8000ers; Phurba Tashi (Himex guide), who summited Everest twice in 2010, also with 22; Apa, who ascended Everest for the 20th time, and is the first person to break the 20k barrier on just one 8000er; Tshering Dorje II Sherpa (Rolwaling Excursion), on his second summit of Makalu, now has 20. Mingma Tshering (Jagged Globe), who has 20 as well. In addition, both Chuwang Nima and Lhakpa Rita I, guides for Alpine Ascents, summited 20 times. So, now several outfits can be proud to have 20k Sherpa guides.

An increasing number of climbers are between ten and 16 summits on 8000ers. In fact, more than 100 alpinists, including, for example, the recent 10k summiteers Simone Moro, Kim Chang-Ho, Palden Namgye Sherpa, Speed Pemba Sherpa, Vernon Tejas and Jorge Egocheaga Rodriguez.

And what is the absolute limit for the collectors? There is no limit at all. For example, if Juanito finishes his “double race”, he would end his journey with 14×2=28, plus two more summits on Cho Oyu–30 in total (30k). Sherpas could go even further. For example, a Sherpa beginning his career now at 20 years of age and working for an outfit at the rate of two-expeditions per year (EV in spring and CH in autumn) would enter the year of his 50th birthday with, more or less, sixty 8000ers summited (60k). With the current speed, we will start to see 30k climbers very soon–about three to four years from now.

NOTABLE ASCENTS ON LOWER PEAKS

I–Changtse (7,538m)

It is hard to be a lower satellite of such a colossal peak like Everest. Those peaks below the umbrella of Chomolungma are most of the time forgotten. It is the case of Changtse (7,538m), the highest sub-peak of the Everest massif in Tibet. Only 12 ascents registered, by 52 climbers, the last one in 1992.

This season, Alex Abramov (RUS), the leader of the respectful Seven Summits Club outfit, decided to end the hiatus, and summited Changtse with three Sherpas, on a partially new route (North Col South Ridge).

II–Takargo (6,771m)

It is a new year for a new virgin 6000er to the collection of these two great climbers who refuse to join the stream and, instead, look for challenging routes on lower peaks. The curriculum of David Gottlieb (USA) and Joe Puryer (USA) is coming to be plenty of luminous gems: 2008–Kang Nachugo (6,735m); 2009–Jobo Rinjang (6,778m); 2010–Takargo (6,771 m).

The first ascent of Takargo was performed in late winter (March 11-12). According to the sketches on the expedition website, the line goes up on the middle of the East Flank, then traverses the entire face to the extreme left, gaining the upper ridge that is entirely traversed back to the right up to the summit. The route literally makes an “S”.

By the way, the other expedition on Takargo, under leadership of Malgorzata Teresa Jurewicz (POL), was unsuccessful.

For the record: Talking about winter, there were some more activities in the coldest season of the year. Andy Parkin (UK) and Victor Saunders (UK) tried Lobuche West Peak (6,119m), but no cigar. Shinji Sato led an expedition to Khatung Kang (6484m), but gave up at 6,100 meters. And the major headline in winter was Renan Ozturk (USA) and Cory Richards (CAN) who ascended the Central Pillar of the S Face of Taboche (6,495m), a technically difficult route in pure winter weather.

III–Kojichuwa Chuli (6,439m)

Under leadership of Michihiro Honda, three Japanese climbers–Ken Fujikawa, Yuta Kawamura and Satoshi Kimoto–performed the first ascent of Kojichuwa Chuli, another beautiful 6000er first summited this season. The three previous expeditions (two from Spain in 2008 and 2009, and one from Japan in 2009) were unsuccessful.

IV–Ekdant (6,100m) and Kartik (5,115m)

Portuguese climbers Daniela Teixeira and Paulo Roxo are also “out of the stream”. They are always aiming for new routes, both virgin and seldom visited peaks. This season they paid a visit to Garwhal Himalaya and opened two alpine-style new routes. On Ekdant they performed the second ascent (the first complete new route on an Himalayan peak by climbers from Portugal); and on Kartik they opened a brand-new line: Directa Lusitana.

NEW ROUTES AND VARIANTS

I–Lhotse (W Face route and Kazakh upper variant)

The incredible Denis Urubko (KAZ) performed solo on this new route on the West Face of Lhotse. He went on the high slopes of the fourth highest mountain and opened an upper variant that differs from the original Swiss Route of 1956. According to the sketches released to the press, the route is equal to the route of 1956 until 8,000 meters. Then, instead of traversing the upper S Col plateau to the couloir that leads to the summit, Denis went to the left, traversed the entire rock bands to the right, and then went to the summit by the ridge. This is the first new route on Lhotse in the past two decades and it is the first new route on the West Face since 1956.

For the record: Lhotse is still the 8000er with less different routes. The regular W Face has only two: Swiss 1956 and Kazakh 2010. The dangerous and difficult S Flank has also two lines: Russian 1990 and Slovenian 1990, while the challenging E Face is completely virgin. Except for the standard route, none of the other routes were completely repeated. So, only four routes in 54 years. In comparison K2 has 11 routes and variants and Everest has 21.

II–Makalu (SW Face–Ukrainian Route)

The south side of Makalu, divided into two portions (SW Face and SE Face), has had several successful routes over the years: SE Ridge Complete (Japanese Route, 1970); Slovenian Route (1975); S Pillar (Czech/Slovak Route, 1976); SE Ridge and E Face (S Korean Route, 1982); and Beghin Route (1989). However, in the last two decades this flank has been neglected. In fact, the last new line on Makalu was a variant to the French Route, performed by Iñaki, Vallejo, Txikon, Martinez, and Ogwyn in 2004.

In 2010 several different expeditions explored this mighty face of Makalu.

A British expedition, under leadership of Colin Scott, tried again the SE Ridge Complete. Previously, Colin had led two expeditions on this route, one in 2004 and the other in 2008, without success. The American expedition of Chris Warner and Marty Schmidt aimed a new line on the southern slopes of Makalu. Warner, with HAPE symptoms, had to be airlifted out of the mountain. Schmidt tried alone, but gave up before summiting.

The Ukrainian team to the SW Face was led by Valentin Simonenko and Yuri Klugov, and comprised of several climbers who conquered Himalchuli in 2007. After installing five altitude camps, the first rope–Serguey Pugachov and Sasha Zakolodny–could not proceed to the summit. Two days later, the second rope–Dmitry Venslavovsky, Serguey Bublik and Vladimir Roshko–made it to the highest point. As reported, the crux was a barrier of rocks from 8,300 to 8,400 meters.

The new line follows the Slovenian Route of 1975 on the lower parts, then at the point it intersects the Beghin Route of 1989 inflects to the left until touching the W Pillar on c7,600 meters, following it to the main summit. The summiteers down climbed via the regular route, completing the third traverse on Makalu (Himalayan Database registers two previous traverses: Marc Batard, 1988, and Pierre Beghin, 1989).

For the record: The Ukrainians, mainly Serguey Bershov and Vladislav Terzyul, have participated in the opening of several very hard routes on 8,000ers, such as: Everest, SW Face (1982); Kangchenjunga, NE Ridge [traverse] (1989); Lhotse, S Face (1990); Annapurna, NW Face (1996); and Manaslu, SE Face – SE Spur (2001). Now, with Makalu, SW Face (2010), it is time for a new generation to keep the flame burning.

MIRACULOUS HELICOPTER RESCUES

Pakistani Army’s helicopter pilots are famous for the audacious and difficult rescues in high altitudes. The most known episode was the dramatic rescue of Tomaz Humar (SLO), trapped at almost 7,000 meters at the Rupal Face of Nanga Parbat in 2005.

Helicopter activity is very dangerous in thin air. So these pilots who risk their own lives to take stranded climbers out of the mountain are truly heroes. Nevertheless, the higher the riskier. The highest rescue operation by a chopper took place on Kamet in 2004 at 7,083 meters by an Indian Air Force’s SA315 LAMA.

In spring of 2010, Air Zemmatt (SWZ) and Fishtail Air (NEP) joined forces to provide the first standby helicopter rescue service in Himalaya, doing in Nepal the same incredible job that Pakistan’s pilots had performed over the past decade on Karakoram. As soon as the ‘season’ started to heat up, the service proved to be extremely necessary. On April 23 the body of a dead climber–Philip Ulrich (DEN)–was airlifted out of Kyajo Ri (6,186 m). Then came well succeeded operations on Manaslu (S Korean climbers), on Makalu (Chris Warner), on Dhaulagiri (Chinese climbers), among several others.

Since climbing 8000ers became touristic, it is clearly important to create a strong security and support structure to help those tourists who have had problems on the mountains. The joint operation between Air Zemmatt and Fishtail Air is one of the most important steps in this field. And the Spring of 2010 was really a landmark of air rescue.

SHERPA’S RACE IS GETTING HOT

There is another “race” going on, but of course without the media coverage that the womens race had. Several Sherpas are engaged in being the first Nepali to summit all 14. In spring 2010, Serap Jangbu and Mingma I were on top of the list with 11 8000ers summited (Mingma would later add NP and GI in later months).

Evolution line of the Sherpas collectors:

First to 1x8000er: Phu Dorje I, Khumjung (EV 1965)
First to 2x8000ers: Urkien Tshering (1977)
First to 3x8000ers: Nga Temba II (1981)
First to 4x8000ers: Ang Rita (1986)
First to 5x8000ers: Nima Temba II (1994)
First to 6x8000ers: Nima Temba II (1994)
First to 7x8000ers: Nima Dorje (2000)
First to 8x8000ers: Mingma I (2004)
First to 9x8000ers: Serap Jangbu (2006)
First to 10x8000ers: Serap Jangbu (2006)
First to 11x8000ers: Serap Jangbu (2009)

Ed. Note: On an email to ExplorersWeb, Nicholas Chaigneau states that Mingma I summited NP on July 11th and G1 on August 5th. Thus “he only needs KG to complete the list (he’s now the first nepali who climbed all pakistani 8000ers);” Nicholas notes.

Bob Schelfhout then provided futher details: “July10, Iranian climber Azim Gheychi Saz summited Nanga Parbat. He was accompanied by Sherpa climber Mingma, who summited his 12th 8000er.Later in the season, on August 5th, Mingma Sherpa summited Gasherbrum I with the Korean expedition. That brings the tally to 13 for Mingma, with only Kangchenjunga left.”

Stats on this article correspond to spring 2010 season. Summer 8000+m summits have not yet been filed up. These will be hoever included in a summer season chronicle soon.

The first Sherpa to declare his intention of summiting all 8000ers was Serap Jangbu. Serap is from Khumjung and was born in 1969. His first 8000er was Kangchenjunga, where he miraculously escaped alive after falling into a crevasse. Instead on working mainly on EV and CH, like most Sherpas, he opted to venture on other peaks. Among other accomplishments, he summited K2 twice, scaled the SW face of SH and tried a new route on the incredible SW face of EV with Park Young-Seok. He has 17x8000ers in all, and still needs G1, BP and NP to complete the race. He is in Pakistan, and will try NP and G1.

Mingma I is also a freelancer, from Nurbu Chaur and born in 1978. He had a meteoric career from 2000 to 2004, when he grabbed nine different main 8000ers. Then, no more news about him until the beginning of the last spring season on Nepal, where he performed a difficult double-header. First, Annapurna with Edurne Pasaban. Nine days later, Dhaulagiri with the Iranians. It was the fifth AN and DH combo ever, and the one in less time (previous record was Andre Georges, in 1996 [ten days]). Mingma only needs KG to complete the list.

Other two Sherpas who pursuit all 14 are Dawa Wangchuk (the partner of Oh Eun-Sun) and Tshering Dorje II (from Rowlwaling Excursion).

Let’s stay tuned this summer, because the Sherpa’s race will become even hotter, since the two Nepalis with the most 8000ers can end the season with 13x8000ers each.

(1*)ExWeb Note, Aug26: Juanito’s summit of Annapurna is valid according to mountaineering tradition and Explorersweb. The views expressed is the author’s only. Check a related story here.

NOTE: This Chronicle is based on preliminary data and under analysis. Some numbers will be revised in the following months, with possibly a few corrections made by then.

This third part on Rodrigo Granzotto’s Everest and Himalaya Chronicle focuses on climbers joining the 14x8000er summiteers’ club, historic records, and other “firsts” achieved in spring 2010. It also hits the bull’s eye on some doubts and controversies which made waves during the season.

ALL 14 CLUB

As predicted on last year’s Chronicle, the list of climbers with all 14 would double or more in the next few years, and we are starting to see just this. In 2009 four climbers ended the race: Denis Urubko, Ralf Dujmovits, Veikka Gustafsson and Andrew Lock. This year, so far, four more: João Garcia, Piotr Pustelnik, Oh Eun-Sun and Edurne Pasaban. The list had 14 names by the end of 2008, and now there are 22 (an increase of 57%).

The next hot spot will be K2, where Maxut Zhumayev, Vassili Pivtsov, Serguey Bogomolov and Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner are in position to also join the club, therefore, the list will almost double in just one year (2009-2010). Also, as dark horse, there is Serap Jangbu Sherpa, who still needs NP, G1 and BP.

Spring Season: those who concluded the quest for all 14:

João Garcia: the first Portuguese and the eleventh person to summit all 14 without oxygen. The career of João started on Cho Oyu (1993) where he opened a partially new variant with Wielicki and Pustelnik and then Nanga Parbat. After the tragedy on Everest (1999), he suffered severe frostbite and needed to be helped down by the Brazilian couple Paulo and Helena Coelho. But João was strong and persistent. He recovered and came back to the game with a strong appetite. He succeeded during 2004-2010 by finishing the last ten 8000ers.

Piotr Pustelnik:the third climber from Poland to end the race. Very respected not only for his skills but also R) . for humanitarianism works in helping so many times with climbers who were in trouble (K2 in 1996, BP in 1999 and AN in 2006). Annapurna–the last 8000er on his path–proved to be tough. Two tries on the S Face (2004 and 2005), one on the E Ridge (2006) and one on the N Face (2008), which all ended without success. After 2006, Pustelnik stated: “This mountain, which I tried to conquer for the third time, sucked out all my climbing skills and my humanity.” But fortunately he came back and finally conquered Annapurna and ended an almost 20-years journey among the 8000ers. He is also the oldest climber to conquer all 14 at 58 years old.

Oh Eun-Sun: accomplished what seemed impossible. In 2007, with only three 8000ers summiting (G2, EV and SH), she was light-years away from Edurne, Gerlinde and Nives. But she had big plans and, with support of strong sponsors, unlimited money and a formidable structure; she summited eleven 8000ers in about three years. On Gasherbrum I (2009) she left Edurne behind and become the leading female climber. Consequently, this spring she concluded her quest as the first woman to summit all 14.

Edurne Pasaban: the third climber from Spain and the second female climber to summit all 8000ers. Her first peak was Everest, with Ivan Vallejo and Silvio Mondinelli, two of her most regular partners. After climbing some mountains, she joined the Al Filo de Lo Imposible, a television show for TVE, and also had sponsorship and structure to pledge herself to the race. With two summits this Season (Annapurna and exactly one month later Shishapangma), she succeeded. It is interesting to point out that she has conquered all 14 in a very short time: eight years and 11 months (faster than her, only Jerzy Kukuczka, Park Young-Seok, Han Wang-Young and Denis Urubko).

First Spanish woman–Edurne Pasaban
Oldest Japanese–Kazuyoshi Kondo, 68
Second Spanish woman to summit all 14–Edurne Pasaban
Third country were all 14 were summited by women–Spain

VIII–Some doubts during the season:

1. Can the summit of Juanito Oiarzabal on Annapurna be considered valid?

Juanito Oiarzabal (SPA) is one of the most amazing climbers of all time. His restless spirit is bonded to the 8000ers, and for him the end of one “race” was only the beginning of another. Now the Basque wants the “double race”–to be the first climber to summit all 14 twice. He has repeated so far EV, K2, KG, MK, CH, G1 and G2.

On April 27 he stood at the summit of Annapurna to become the second westerner to top out this peak twice. But can his “summit” really be considered valid?

Polemics emerged because Juanito did not come down on foot. He and Carlos Pauner were airlifted from C4 (6,900m) by chopper. In an interview with Desnivel on May 5, the Spaniard said that he “went down by helicopter because of the circumstances–not out of need”. He added: “The chopper was there after flying over the area several times searching for Tolo, then we went down [by helicopter] because of the circumstances–not because we needed to.”.

So the helicopter flight was not a rescue operation. Juanito was not injured, nor ill, nor in immediate danger. He simply was physically fatigued and opted to go out of the mountain; he could have descent on foot–“by his own means”, his words– but by chopper for comfort reasons. This event aroused the attention of those who are concerned about stats with the need to rethink this sport because helicopters are becoming quite popular on Himalaya and Karakoram–not just because of rescue operations. Several climbers are being airlifted to BCs off the mountain which means that it is time to define what climbing expeditions are considered valid and invalid.

For example, can an acclimatized climber can be airlifted to Everest’s South Col, go for the summit and then descend to South Col just in time to take a “air ride” off the mountain? And can an ABC-Summit-ABC endeavor be considered valid just to avoid the dangerous Khumbu Icefall? If Juanito’s “summit” remains valid, this will open a new possibility for climbers. It would only be necessary to ascend the mountain to the summit. On the descent, one could be picked up at any point by a chopper and go home with the “summit” validated.

The debate is open.

ExWeb Note, Aug26: Juanito’s summit of Annapurna is valid according to mountaineering tradition and Explorersweb. The views expressed is the author’s only.

2. Which is the standard route of Shisha Pangma?

The author was questioned by email about the regular route of Shishapangma. The smallest of all 8000ers is a very curious mountain. Looking briefly at numbers, one can assume that it is not a popular peak with only 304 people ascending. But, if included in stats for the climbers who reached the fore summit (Shishapangma Central), numbers go very high with 1,078 people ascending in total.

The difference is explained with two words: summit ridge. The regular route on the N Face (Chinese 1964) and its several variants conduct to Shishapangma Central. Since the ridge between it and the main summit is very dangerous and exposed, most of the climbers decide to stop on the lower fore summit (many of them claiming to be “summiteers”, in spite of everybody knowing that they are a literal ridge away from success).

Because of this in particular, several climbers have been seeking alternatives, going to the left (E Face) to avoid the ridge and proceed directly to the main summit. Therefore, new lines start to appear. The first were the Austrians Obojes and Putz (1980): “Our climbers followed the Chinese first-ascent route to C4. On the summit slopes they went farther east and then climbed straight to he northeast ridge, which they followed to the top” (source: AAJ). This route was repeated for the first time by all the teams in 2010, totaling 19 summits.

Iñaki Ochoa de Olza, more or less, followed this line in 2006. But he went lower on the face, below the serac band, and after it rejoined the straight line on the center to the top. This variation was repeated by Danielle Fischer (USA) and Lhakpa Rita Sherpa (NEP) in 2007. However, they mistakenly went to the Central Summit, and by Andrew Lock (AUS) and Neil Ward (UK) in 2009.

Finally, to the extreme east, after traversing the entire face to the NE Ridge, there is the ‘Russian Route’ of 2002 (Bogomolov and Oleynik), which has not been repeated.

On the other side of the peak, it is also possible to say that the ‘British Route’ on the SW Face of Shishapangma is a regular route. The highest point was reached 57 times by this line from the year 2000 onward. Therefore, 41% of the ascents were performed by it, which makes it a standard also. Of the technical routes on 8000ers this is the most popular indeed.

In conclusion, Shishapangma (like Everest and K2) has two standard routes (Chinese 64 and British 82). In the future, if the Austrian Variant (80) becomes popular, it could transform SH into the first 8000er with three regular routes (or maybe the ‘Chinese Route’ could even be abandoned).

3. The Romeros are the first “family” to summit Everest together?

The wonder boy Jordan Romero (USA), the youngest climber to summit Everest (May 22), made it to the top side-by-side with his father Paul Romero (USA) and his stepmother Karen Lundgren (USA). On their personal website, they proclaim themselves the first family to summit together.

The concept of “family” varies from country to country. The traditional is father, mother and children, but socio-affective instances can make the concept have several more variations. In 2008 the Mallory’s (Canada) summited together on Everest (Dan and his sons Adam and Alan). On May 23, 2010 the Studers (Austria) topped out the Tibetan Flank of the mountain (Wilfred [father], Sylvia [mother], and Claudia [daughter]).

So, if we use the “traditional” definition of family, the Romero’s would be the first. But if used in the non-traditional sense (socio-affective), then they are not.

The result is too huge to wrap it up in a single story, so this time we have divided the massive amount of information into several topics.

On this first part, Peron provides a general overview of the season that follows with an update of the 8000er collectors’ status, which is a list of the remarkable Everest serial summiteers, and a reminder of those lost to the highest mountains on earth.

There is also a final status with the season’s summits on 8000ers, in absolute numbers.

Major action was seen on Everest, Annapurna, Makalu and Shisha Pangma. We had scarce activities on Cho Oyu, Lhotse, Manaslu and Kangchenjunga. Like last year, one peak received almost all the spotlights. In Spring 2009 it was Kangchenjunga. Now, it was Annapurna’s time.

During the Spring Season there were registered more than 650 summits on all 8000ers. Shishapangma now passed the 300-ascents mark; Manaslu 400; Cho Oyu 3000; and Everest has now more than 5000 ascents, by more than 3000 different climbers.

After 2008, that passed in blank, and 2009, with only two ascents without bottled oxygen (Ludovic Challeat and Frank Ziebarth), this year we got several NOOX occurrences, according with preliminary reports: Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner, Silvio Mondinelli, Abele Blanc, Michele Enzio and Marco Camandona. Gerlinde is the fifth lady climber to summit NOOX and the fourth by the Tibetan route (Lydia Bradey remains the only female to summit without oxygen from Nepal). Gnaro is the 18th person to summit twice NOOX (the second from Italy), and the eighth to summit Everest both sides without using oxygen.

Interesting to note that some main and subsidiary 8000ers had “special birthday parties” in the spring:

May 12 – 40 years of Lhotse Shar
May 13 – 50 years of Dhaulagiri
May 15 – 55 years of Makalu
May 25 – 55 years of Kangchenjunga
June 3 – 60 years of Annapurna

Also several famous 7000ers, including 50 years of the first ascents of Api, Annapurna II, Himalchuli and Disteghil Sar; 40 years of Dhaulagiri VI; and 30 years of Yebokangal II and Varaha Shikhar.

Still, it was the “special anniversary” of some very hard routes on 8000ers:

April 24 – 20 years of the conquest of the S Face of Lhotse, by Tomo Cesen

April 24 – 25 years of the conquest of the NW Face of Annapurna, by Messner and Kammerlander

May 10 – 30 years of the conquest of the Supercouloir on the N Face of Everest, by a Japanese party

May 11 – 15 years of the conquest of the NE Ridge Complete of Everest, by a Japanese party

May 14 – 30 years of the conquest of the Central Rib on the NW Face of Kangchenjunga, also by a Japanese party

May 27 – 40 years of the conquest of the British Route on the S Face of Annapurna, by Don Whillans and Dougal Haston

Last but not least, one of the most famous lines on the 8000ers, the Tibetan regular route of Everest (N Col), was set on May 25, 50 years ago, by Gombu, Wang Fu-Zhou, and Xu In-Huang. So far, almost 1900 ascents by it, that is only surpassed by the Nepalese regular route of Everest (S Col), with more than 3000 ascents, and the Tichy route on Cho Oyu (approaching 3000 ascents).

And, finally, in the year of the World Cup of Soccer in South Africa we witness an “invasion” of South African climbers on Everest. Ten summits in all, including second ascents by Sean Disney and Vaughan de la Harpe and the first lady climber to complete the Seven Summits: Amanda Ramsden. This was the most successful season for the African continent of all time.

Note 1: The summit of Oh Eun-Sun, Dawa Wangchuk Sherpa and Pema Tshering Sherpa on Kangchenjunga is disputed. Also is contested the summit of Juanito Oiarzabal and Carlos Pauner on Annapurna (they went out of the mountain by chopper, from C4 [c6900m], instead of climbing down). And there are strong rumors that Serguey Bogomolov and Evgeny Vinogradsky did not reach the main point of Annapurna. All these claims are under investigation.

Note 2: The complete list with all collectors will be released by the end of the Karakoram season in a special report, updated to the end of summer.

Therefore, four climbers perished on EV; three on DH; two on MN; and one on AN, LH, CH and MK. Total: 13. Preliminary danger level of the 8000ers on the season is around 2.1%. Besides, one death registered on a 6000er: Kyajo Ri (6,186m).

Note: Willie Benegas is the second “foreign climber” (except the “locals” Nepalis and Tibetans) to summit Everest ten times, after Dave Hahn, who still is the leader of the pack, with 12 ascents. He is also the first westerner to summit the Nepali standard route of Everest ten times (Dave Hahn has only nine, the other three were by Tibete). And Melissa Sue Arnot is the first foreign lady climber to summit Everest three times and, repeating the achievement of Lhakpa Sherpani, she is the second woman to summit three consecutive years (2008-2010).

III–And other peaks?

On Kangchenjunga, Sangay Phuri Sherpa (NEP) summited for the second time.

On Lhotse, Chewang Lendu (NEP), a high altitude Sherpa climber for IMG, topped out again, and now shares the record with Palden Namgye on the mountain: four summits. Gyalzen Dorje Sherpa (NEP) did the same as well, which makes this his second summit.

On Makalu, Tshering Dorje II Sherpa, from Rolwaling Excursion, summited for his second time.

On Cho Oyu, Maximo Kausch, from Argentina, summited for the second time. Also Panuru Sherpa (NEP), IMG guide, made it to the top. This is his fourth summit.

On Annapurna only Nepalis had summited more than once previous to this season. But in 2010 Peter Hamor (SLK) and Juanito Oiarzabal (SPA) topped out for the second time each.

On Shishapangma, Alex Txikon (SPA) succeeded for the second time (he has now summited both sides of Shisha).

Back in the middle of July I posted some information on the preliminary reports of how the Champion Super Suit performed on Everest this past spring. Now, the company has posted its own update with more information on the suit’s performance, as well as the other new products that have been in development for some time.

The Super Suit garnered a lot of attention last fall when it was first announced, as it gave us a glimpse of the possible future for outdoor gear. Made with aerogel, the suit promised to be incredibly thin and light, while remaining as warm as a traditional down suit, and according to this report, it seems that it lived up to those expectations.

The suit was used up to 24,000 feet, just below Camp 3, and in temperatures as low as -40ºF. Expedition leader Jamie Clarke described it as the warmest coat he’d ever worn, although the suit didn’t breathe as well as other products, which is not surprising considering the properties of aerogel. Hansebrand concludes that while the design shows promise, they still have more work to do to before this can become a commercially viable piece of gear.

The rest of the report looks at how the new line of socks, base layers, and shells performed on the mountain as well. This gear is much closer to being a reality, with some of it hitting store shelves as early as this year. You can read the entire report by clicking here.

There has been a lot of discussion over the past few days about Pemba Dorje Sherpa’s plan to find a younger climber to break Jordan Romero’s record for the youngest person to summit Everest. He hopes to fins an 11 or 12 year old Nepali child to guide to the top of the mountain, but hasn’t ruled out taking his own 10-year old son on the expedition. He’s even already received an age exemption from the Nepali Government, allowing him to proceed with his plan. The country currently requires that all climbers be 16-years of age, or older, to climb the mountain, which is why Jordan Romero went to the North Side to climb. At the time, China had no such age limit.

The China-Tibet Mountaineering Association now says that beginning this fall, all climbers must be at least 18-years of age to attempt the climb from the North Side. But not content with just setting a minimum age, the Chinese have also elected to set a maximum one as well. Climbers can now be no older than 60 if they want to climb from the North. They did say that climbers outside of the 18-60 age group could be considered as long as they could provide documentation of their good health, although they also said that no one under 16 would ever be considered. Period.

The North Side of Everest has always been a bit more wild and unregulated than the South Side. Nepal has been more at the forefront of these kinds of issues, so it is good to see China stepping up to institute these kinds of requirements. Hopefully this will dissuade any more attempts on the “Youngest” records.

Now, if only we can convince Nepal to stick to that 16-year age limit too.

Yesterday I posted the news that a Sherpa was already plotting to break Jordan Romero’s recently claimed record as the youngest person to summit Everest. The 13-year old American topped out on May 22nd, and now Pemba Dorje Sherpa is looking for an even younger climber to guide to the summit in order to break that record, possibly even his own son, who will turn 10 later this year.

In that story that I posted yesterday I noted that Nepal has an age requirement for climbing Everest, and won’t issue permits to anyone under the age of 16. I wrote that Pemba was hoping to get special permission to allow him to take a Nepali child to the summit, and later Alan Arnette, who first wrote about this story, posted a comment correcting my story, saying that permission had already been granted. Today we have even more information, courtesy of this story from the Himalayan Times.

In this article Pemba says that the Nepal’s Ministry of Tourism has already agreed to allow him to make an attempt on the summit with a young child during the 2011 climbing season. Furthermore, the Sherpa has returned to his home village to look for a suitable young man or woman to join his expedition, but so far he says that it has been difficult due to the fact that most children born there do not have a birth certificate to verify their age. It is because of that difficulty that he has begun to consider his own son.

At this point, I guess we’ll have to wait and see how this plays out, but it seems like a very real possibility that we’ll have another young child on Everest again next year, and climbing from the South Side.

Thanks to Alan Curr for sharing this article with me and his insights from Kathmandu.

Jordan Romero has been all the buzz lately, becoming quite the media sensation since he reached the summit of Everest back on the 22nd of May. For months we’ve been following Jordan and his quest to conquer the Seven Summits, and many times I’ve said that while I salute him for his adventurous spirit, I worry about the precedent that his climbs might set for other kids to follow. It seems that those fears may be well founded, as there may already be plans afoot to take the “Youngest” record even lower.

According to this story over at Alan Arnette’s 2010 Everest Blog, Sherpa Pemba Dorje is already searching for a young climber who can break Jordan’s record, furthermore, he thinks that all Everest records should be held by Nepali climbers. Alan quotes him as saying:

“Nepal is a small country and we do not get much good publicity. I want to take an 11- or 12-year-old to the summit because I think all the Everest records should be held by Nepalese people.”

Pemba is also willing to put his money where his mouth is, as he says that he may even be willing to take his own son, who is currently nine years old but will turn ten later this year, to the summit of Everest. As a mountain guide, Pemba has been up and down Everest on more than one occasion, and even set the current speed record for the climb, which stands at 8 hours, 10 minutes, back in 2004.

This is exactly what I was afraid would happen. Now that it has been shown that a 13-year old can climb the highest mountain on the planet, someone wants to take an even younger child to the summit. Granted, if any 10-year old could make it to the top, it is probably a Nepali child who has lived in the mountains their entire life. But still, these kids are still developing, still growing, and personally, I don’t think it’s a good idea to take them up the mountain at all. Worse yet, clearly this is all about an arbitrary record, and I would hate to think about a child being injured, or even killed, because their overly ambitious father wanted to claim a record.

Nepal, to it’s credit, requires that all climbers be 16 years old or older to make an attempt on Everest. It was for that reason that Jordan and his team crossed over to Tibet to make their claim. The Chinese don’t have any qualms about who climbs as long as they can pay. Hopefully the Nepali government will stick to their rule and prevent anyone under 16 from climbing, even if they are native to the country. That doesn’t mean that Pempa and his son won’t cross over to Tibet to give it a try, but at least someone would be making a stand against this trend of younger and younger kids taking on these daring adventures.